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Hall of Famer Dorsett suing NFL
TweetThe helmet-to-helmet shot knocked Tony Dorsett out cold in the second quarter of a 1984 Cowboys-Eagles game, the hardest hit he ever took during his Hall of Fame NFL career.
"It was like a freight train hitting a Volkswagen," Dorsett says now.
"Did they know it was a concussion?" he asks rhetorically during an interview with The Associated Press. "They thought I was half-dead."
And yet, he says, after being examined in the locker room — a light shined in his eyes; queries such as who sat next to him on the Cowboys' bus ride to the stadium — Dorsett returned to the field and gained 99 yards in the second half. Mainly, he says, by running plays the wrong way, because he couldn't remember what he was supposed to do.
"That ain't the first time I was knocked out or been dazed over the course of my career, and now I'm suffering for it," the 57-year-old former tailback says. "And the NFL is trying to deny it."
Dorsett traces several health problems to concussions during a career that lasted from 1977-88, and he has joined more than 300 former players — including three other members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and at least 32 first- or second-team All-Pro selections — in suing the NFL, its teams and, in some cases, helmet maker Riddell.
Comments
yea, they all blew their millions on crack and their broke....so what else....let's sue somebody....it's not my fault...wha,wha,wha
the medical experts and the NFL weren't as aware of the concussion problems in those years as they are today. It's hard to say the NFL did wrong when they didn't know what was right. They handled injuries based on the information that was available. I don't believe they hid info and purposely tried to hurt players careers and their life following football. Like comment 1 states, it's always blame someone else.
Maybe the family's of the players who used to wear the leather helments should start a law suit.. I agree with you totaly fatty.
Ok, first off, anytime you pay an athelete more than a teacher, policeman or healthcare worker, there is something wrong with someone's head. Secondly, you mean it takes a genius to know that if you're cracking heads as hard as you possibly can against each other repeatedly for years, you're not going to have some kind of ill effects??? Doesn't that go with the job? Can I sue for my varicose veins for working 12-16hr shifts for 25 yrs taking care of people??
next up boxers sue everlast for not knowing that repeated blows to the head can cause damage
Seems like he remembers the hit and all the particulars from something that happened in 1984. Can't be too bad off. Oh wait he's broke. That's the real issue. Someone has to pay for his stupidity.
He once had it great, squandered it, and now he's bitter and broke.
He didn't complain when he was in the limelight and enjoying his money. No sympathy here.
“Players are different today. They don't understand that it's a privilege to play this game. It's an honor. You have an opportunity to make a lot of money. But when you're complaining about only making $7 million to feed your family, nobody has sympathy for that. You're going to turn people off.”
Tony Dorsett